The Sadie Family - 'Soldaat' Grenache

"The 2015 Old Vine Series Soldaat is one of the few labels from Eben that is still 100% whole bunch, aged in concrete only. It has a brambly red berry fruit, a slight granitic note overlayed by wilted rose petal. The palate is very fresh and vibrant on the entry, perhaps a little more body and density than previous vintages that I have tasted, with immense purity and varietal expression on the finish. This is excellent and a very strong follow-up to the 2014." Neal Martin

Eben Sadie is considered one of the great preservationists and visionaries in the new generation of South African winemakers. To Eben, the vineyard and fruit are part of the story—the truest expression of his art and philosophy. The wine writer Neal Martin recently called Sadie an “outspoken, peripatetic, terroir-obsessed winemaker who has been instrumental in putting Swartland on the map. He produces a small portfolio of comparatively expensive, but highly coveted wines based on Rhone varieties sourced from his seemingly never-ending search for pockets of old bush vines and unique terroirs. These are cerebral wines built to age.”